president obama reached out to members of congress to brief them on the situation. european allies are also discussing an appropriate response. the u.s. would likely launch tomahawk cruise missiles from those ships in the mediterranean. the president says he has ruled out putting american troops on the ground in syria. >>> u.s. stock markets drifted lower today after the obama administration increased pressure on syria. the dow industrials fell 64 points. nasdaq was a fraction lower. the markets had been up before the comments about syria's use of chemical weapons. >>> the u.s. treasury secretary is urging congress to raise the nation's debt limit as soon as possible. in a letter to congress, he says federal funds will dry out in mid-october. unless the government agents, the government will no longer be able to pay its bills. failure could put social security payments at risk, along with money for veterans. >>> state senator mark leno wants to take action against russia and its new laws that discriminate against lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. for example, a pub